Do you ever get some totally ridiculous cryptic Facebook posts by your "friends"?
Like,
"Something needs to change."
"I'm so over this."
"It is all just too much."
"Hard core day."
"Worst day of my life!"
"I just want to explode!"
With no explanation at all.
Nope.
Nadda.
These people are so utterly self centered that they throw out a phrase hoping to entice some kind of empathy without us even knowing remotely what is going on.
Maybe their "worst day of my life" is them burning the toast in the morning.
Or "I just want to explode" is they had a burrito for lunch and now have a large amount of gas.
Their "something needs to change" is them adding a new play list in itunes.
How do I know how to react to their calls for help if they don't actually say anything?
If you don't really want to share what is eating at you then don't throw out cries for help.
And just so you know…
Everything on Facebook is a soulless lie.
Well not the grumpy cat because that dude is obviously real and so is his friend Henri but everything else is a lie exaggeration and not to be taken to heart.
The only thing you should be using your Facebook page for is…
Humble bragging (I am so tall and thin it is hard to find anything that fits me.)
Sneaky dating (umm…hi! we went to high school together 15 years ago…I was in your English class…remember me?)
Sharing food pics ( I think that might be part of humble bragging, "I wasn't really hungry, but I ate this amazing 6 course meal with wine pairing anyhow."
Bragging (Just spent another 2 hours with my personal trainer at the gym.)
Marketing (goes without saying)
Showing where you've travelled/vacation. (You could turn this into a humble brag by saying you were sent to Paris and had to stay at the George V where you ran into Micheal Fassbender and George Clooney at the bar…all for boring tedious work.)
Showing off. ( Look how much weight I've lost!)
Showing off what you just bought. ( I had a hard day of retail therapy.)
Showing your newest outfit. (Guilty!)
Showing what you've just accomplished (I just had to replace my running shoes again after running my 6th marathon this month!)
Sharing a funny comic/story/video
…and oh yeah… and bragging.
THAT my friends is what Facebook is for.
Do not look for words of wisdom or empathy on Facebook. Especially when you are unwilling to say what the heck it is all about.
Okay…that is me ranting : )
But just so you know…my next post on my timeline will read…
"I am so over this BS."
I love Facebook for those very things, you can learn so much about people by their status updates and those cryptic ones are the classic sign of an attention seeker. The funniest ais from a woman i know who constantly updates her status, has a dizzy fit about not having enough “likes” and deleting her account “because none of my 700 friends acre about me” only to come back 12 hours later with another load of twaddle! x
haha! love this. I only use my Facebook page for bragging, natch. I feel so thin today, I don’t think anything will fit. xox
You hit the nail square on the head! Though I certainly knew of it, I was a relative latecomer to Facebook, only joining for the first time about a year ago (primarily because I wanted to create a page for my blog). Though I do enjoy it for the most part, I don’t use FB a lot or spend much time there. It doesn’t jive as well with me as certain other social media sites, but I see the good sides (amongst the endless drama, political rants, “repost this” images, and other faff) and benefits to it and imagine I’ll remain on FB for years to come.
♥ Jessica
This probably wouldn’t surprise you, but one of Angel’s favorite pastimes is making up meaningless quotes and cryptic messages of this sort to post on his facebook page. Only a few people have caught on to his tricks…I can’t remember what his last one was now…but it was something about achieving world peace…
And he purposely “friended” a few of my friends who I mentioned had the weirdest status updates because he’s amused by them. Seriously, I mean, I love my friends in real life, but some people have strange ideas of how to use the internet…
Exactly. Facebook is my fun time, not that there can’t ever be serious stuff there, but some people need to learn to toss an occasional positive tidbit in amongst their “Woe is me”, “So glad THAT’S over”, and “I’m not sure I’m strong enough for this” statuses. Unless you’re really in need of help, keep it light. And if you are asking for help, Facebook probably isn’t the place for it. My statuses are usually along the lines of “I have BUNS OF STEEL, and a lot of other workout videos I really should be using.”
On my personal FB page, it is all of the above of what you said. I don’t ever put anything controversial or questionable ….totally meant to show a glimpse of my my life. As for my page on FB, let’s say that there’s not much attention to it all. I have really struggled with this media for the blog to connect to people.
Alice
http://www.happinessatmidlife.com
O, yeah, I hear you! Attention seekers of the worst kind.
I don’t use Farcebook (my name for it) a huge amount, and I frequently get pissed off with it and don’t bother for days on end.
XXX
Whaaa…? Who would ever tell a soulless lie when soulful ones are so much more fun? It’s bad enough seeing a Followers (Disciples) counter, but to worry about Likes from your Friends too? You’d have to sign me into therapy in advance. Blogging gives me ample room for all my lying needs; the thought of having to think of new hollow lies for Facebook is very tiring.
My only Facebook friends are for the most part people I’m actually friends with or am related to in real life. There are a few that I felt obligated to add…I don’t over share on Facebook any more than I do on my blog. And I find it so sad when people post fake shit that I know for a fact doesn’t match the back story!
Debbie
http://www.fashionfairydust.blogspot.com
LOL she sounds lovely! ha ha!
; )
I can’t “get into” Facebook or Twitter (I’m trying but I’m not doing well) and I am stubbornly refusing to participate in Instagram. I am but a mere pebble of sand against the tsunami of social media.
Ha ha! He sounds sneaky and fun. I think I like his sense of humour.
Ha ha! Love that Buns of Steel comment. I need to post that to my FB! ; )
I agree that FB isn’t the place for searching for help.
You and me both. I will admit openly that I can be a bit lazy about updating that status and I rarely get people commenting there. Plus I find it confusing between my personal account and the other one that I created for the business/blog. Lots of people just friended me on my personal one instead of the blog one so now I need to post in both areas each time. I’m almost thinking I should delete one.
I’m stealing Farcebook! LOL
It is tiring! LOL
Yep. Makes you wonder about those people.
Grumpy Cat is the best thing on Facebook. I rarely post a status update (face it–I’m not that interesting) and have hidden or defriended so many recently because I just can’t stand the stupidity.
Ha ha! This is awesome! I hate those attention-seeking whiny updates. Another thing I hate: “LOL” — out of nowhere. Like, just LOL and there’s nothing in the timeline to say what’s so funny. Did that really need to be shared? WTF! Ha ha.
Schooled! I’m not a fan of Vague-booking… And food pics. I’m guilty of marketing so mah bad! Funny post!
Love this! I just quit Facebook because I honestly see no purpose besides a time sink.
I commute by bus. I use facebook to post stories about my fellow bus riders. The good, the bad, and the inane.
I just keep boring my friends with photos of funny cats and me in outfits. They are convinced I am shallow. Oh well, the ones that know me well, know better (hopefully). And I laugh a lot at Facebook because people are putting funny YouTube movies on it. (I am too lazy to look them up myself).
Greetje
PS I don’t mind it much that everything is always cheerful and hunky dory at Facebook. It is a nice counter-balance for the news….